EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,005 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.7 %

Norfolk Southern stock traded down $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $243.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,254,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,739. The company has a market capitalization of $55.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $224.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.20.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 9,650 shares of company stock worth $2,182,110. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.